By Matthew Meyer (@mattmeyersjsu) – Spear Reporter | The Spartans move to surround University of the Pacific junior attacker Yoav Rendler as the ball comes to him (Photo by Mitchell Park (@park30news) – Spear Photographer)
No. 13 San Jose State men’s water polo (6-9, 0-1 WCC) fell 13-10 to No. 8 University of the Pacific (5-5, 1-0 WCC) in its first West Coast Conference match Saturday afternoon at the Spartan Recreational and Aquatic Center.
The absence of key players, including sophomore utilityman Sam Keightley, the Spartans’ leading scorer, played a big factor in the team’s performance.
“We definitely had to adjust our strategy a lot, in every aspect of the game really,” SJSU head coach Gabor Sarusi said.
The Spartans’ bench woes only worsened when freshman driver Aron Sárfalvi was forced to leave the match with a nose injury in the first period.
Without the presence of their top scorer, the Spartans relied on senior driver Mitchell Keightley, sophomore driver Aidan Johnson and junior utilityman Samu Biros.
The trio accounted for six of the 10 Spartan goals, with Biros putting up four on his own.
“The team needed this from me today,” Biros said. “We knew this was gonna be a hard game without six guys. But I’m really proud of them because everybody played their heart out and I think we pretty much left everything in the water.”
Biros, the team’s leading scorer in 2025, recorded a hat trick before halftime.
The Spartans scored heavily at the beginning and end of the match, with only one goal coming in both the second and third periods.
On the other side of the pool, the Tigers scored consistently throughout the match, notching at least three goals in each period.
The Spartans failed to contain both Tiger sophomore wing Petar Popovic and freshman attacker Gabor Holl, who put up three and four goals, respectively.
Spartan senior goalkeeper Alexey Poletaev started in the cage for the Spartans but was substituted after the first period for freshman goalkeeper Stellen Karkazis, who finished the match.
Karkazis recorded 4 saves and a single assist.
“Stellen is coming off the bench and really stepping up,” Sarusi said. “I don’t think he expected to have this role as a freshman and he’s really doing a great job.”
Despite missing multiple players, the Spartans’ mentality remains steadfast, leaving Mitchell Keightley optimistic.
“We’re gonna regroup and we’re gonna come back stronger, especially when the guys come back,” Mitchell Keightley said. “I see a lot of development. I see a lot of young guys stepping up. (I’m) just super proud of the guys.”
The Spartans will return to the water for their second conference match against UC Davis at noon on Sunday at the Spartan Recreational and Aquatic Center in San Jose, California.
